One of my nieces (and her little family) live in a small, old house–with NO CLOSETS on the entire 1st floor. –Huh?
When you live in the Midwest, a coat closet is a must!
So, her husband and I conspired to remedy the situation for Christmas—
and we installed it today while Brandee was out shopping!
I started sketching ideas–based on their family needs. And this is my crazy thought process getting worked out.
Since time was of the essence, I had to begin with a crude plan—ehh–!
1st–some corbels.
Made from what is known as 5/4 board I had on hand! I guess some are too lazy to call it 1¼” wood. Mine, however, is actually closer to 1½”—I found it at the ReStore—cheap!
Here, already cut, you see me sanding the profiles “perfect” on a drum sander.
I needed to dowel two pieces together to get the needed depth.
Another ReStore find, is this frig cap–$5. I used to design custom kitchens, this is a very expensive add-on and was a great find!
The Top Section—
The face frame is made of scrap wood, the sides are old cabinet doors (ReStore, again).
I wanted the “hall tree” to install flush on the right so I cut off the right side crown return (besides clipping the depth).
My finished scheme is Farrow & Ball’s Off Black, an Early American stain, and Annie Sloane’s Dark wax.
The Trunk—
The top is cut from a 1½” glued-edged board. It’s got a “sort-of butcher-block” look, and stains nicely.
I routered the edge with a 1″ ogee profile for a nice detail.
Two 8ft pine boards, close in the front and back of the trunk, plus a ½” plywood board for the inside bottom. The facing & foot details are from more leftovers.
Concerned about potential damage from wet shoes & boots, I used my new drill press (early Christmas present!) to bore ventilation holes, & heavily coat the board w/a rubbery spray paint.
Here you can see the left side waxed. It gives the Off Black paint a beautiful lustre, and the stain more depth!
My Their finished piece!
I forgot to mention that after building a simple door frame, I changed my finish to a chalkboard face so my niece could leave messages for her boys!
And I added a kitchen cabinet under-mount light!
What a great Christmas present. Merry Christmas Catherine.
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Catherine! This is amazing. What a wonderful Christmas gift. She will be thrilled!
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Can’t wait to see what you make for my home! I’ll be out between 8am and noon, is that enough time for a kitchen redo or maybe a simple addition? Hugs my dear friend.
Kristy @ 4 the love of WOOD
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Thank you ladies!
I would love to build something for all of you!
The Merriest of Christmases to you each!
Catherine
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What an amazing gift you gave your niece and her family! It turned out beautiful too.
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That rocks!!!
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This looks wonderful! You got to love form and function! One of my resolutions for this next year is to become more handy with power tools and this post reconfirms that. Great job!!
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that is awesome! what a fabulous gift!
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Oh my gosh, what a fun idea! Great gift and super functional. Love it!
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Love it! It is really a beautiful piece.
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Beautiful work! I’m sure they will love this practical gift!
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you’re amazing. The chalkboard was a SUPER idea!!!
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Wow, that is awesome! Thanks for sharing.
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Love, love, love it!!I enjoyed my visit to your sweet blog! Hugs! P.S. I hope you’ll stop by Katherines Corner and add your lovely blog to my blog list page 🙂
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What a thoughful, not to mention useful, gift. It looks great!
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Visiting from Sunday’s Best!! Love it!! So thoughtful, practical, and the idea of chalkpaint is perfect!
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What a terrific project!
Thank you for for sharing at Potpourri Friday. I wish you a healthy, prosperous and sparkling New Year!
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You give awesome gifts! That is wonderful and pretty and functional too. I am a new FB fan visiting from Project Queen. Vicky from Mess For Less
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Practical and beautiful. Love it.
Audrey
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You do such a great job with these! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
Sherry
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Ah, you can make me one of these for my birthday, seriously I’ll send you the dimensions! Is there anything you can’t do? You really are one of the most talented women I know. one of these days you and I need to take a trip towards each other. Thanks so much for sharing over at Sunday’s Best.
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Love this project so much, esp. because it was made with love! Featuring tomorrow, thanks!
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Holy awesome present, Catherine! You have some serious skills. Thank you so much for introducing me to rubbery spray paint! That is the perfect solution for the bottom of an old fruit crate that I want to use as shoe bin next to my front door for. Happy new year!
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Jami–I also used it to re-coat the interior of some garden urns! Great product!
Catherine
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